By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Reporter
SURGING PAST previous benchmarks, Nigeria’s 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) recorded an unprecedented 17,025 candidates scoring 300 and above—more than double the tally in 2024.
The figure marks the highest since the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) adopted the Computer-Based Test (CBT) model in 2013.
Representing 0.88 per cent of the 1,931,467 total examinees, the milestone reflects a sharp and consistent rise in top-tier performances.
In 2024, only 8,401 candidates (0.46%) hit the 300+ mark, while 2023 registered 5,318 (0.35%).
The latest results indicate a notable leap in academic outcomes across multiple score brackets.
A deeper statistical breakdown from JAMB shows that 117,373 candidates scored 250 and above in 2025, a significant increase from 77,070 in 2024 and 56,736 in 2023.
This accounts for 6.08 per cent of total examinees—up from 4.18 per cent and 3.73 per cent in the previous two years respectively.
Further gains emerged in the 200+ score category, with 565,988 candidates (29.3%) achieving the benchmark. This compares with 439,961 (24%) in 2024 and 355,689 (23.36%) in 2023.
Despite these gains, a majority—1,365,479 candidates, or 70.7%—still fell below 200, though this marks a steady decline from 76% in 2024 and 76.64% in 2023.
JAMB Registrar Professor Ishaq Oloyede credited the rising success rates to continuous improvements in the CBT system.
He cited growing candidate familiarity with digital testing formats and enhanced academic readiness as contributing factors to the upward trend.
The current achievements are stark when compared to the historical context. Only 724 candidates (0.06%) reached 300+ in 2021, and no candidate achieved that score level in 2013 or 2014.
However, the 2025 UTME was not without controversy. On May 14, Oloyede disclosed that 379,997 results were invalidated due to a server glitch linked to faulty updates, affecting candidates across 157 centres in Lagos and the South-East region.
JAMB subsequently mandated resits for all affected candidates and has since released the corresponding results.
